South Side Park Self-Guided Hike – a 30ish minute hike that includes some semi- steep ascents and descents, but generally easy! Let’s start this hike at the Arlington Baseball Field, behind the Arlington Fire Station. Where the Ballpark is now, there used to be a giant blue slide when they opened this 65 acre park in the 1960s. The 2018 Master Plan calls to restore a giant slide near here, as well
as a ropes course, and a bicycle pump track just below the ballfield and off to the west. A pump track is like a skate park for bikes. South Side Trail & Keeling Coal Trail
Leave out of the back of the ballfield, through the grassy area, and take a left down to follow South Side Trail. The path curves to the right at the base of the hill and you will pass by Quarry Trail on the left. You will be returning that route. If you did take Quarry trail, just a short distance down on the right, you can get on Keeling Coal Trail. You might want to explore that trail on your own, and depending on the season, can be one of our most secluded trails with a few small stream crossings. There was a narrow gauge Keeling Coal Railroad that brought coal from the South Hills in an underground tunnel to the park (before it was a park) and then was carried down an incline to 21st Street and out to the river for delivery. As you walk along South Side Trail, look for the old cistern and the railroad piers along the trail. The goats have spent three weeks in this area, between the South Side Trail and the Keeling Coal Trail, to remove invasive plant species. Their work shows us just how many trees we have lost and promotes additional tree planting. There were about a dozen homes along what is now the South Side Trail. There were no paved roads here so the garbage trucks did not come down in the winter months. The residents threw their garbage bags over the hill. Today, we find 60 year old bags of trash and lots of glass and metal. You will pass by a trail that goes up the hill to the right – this is the Salisbury Connector Trail and takes you up to the Arlington Rec Center. Continue to the end of the paved trail. Jurassic Overlook
You can see the knotweed and grapevine which has downed trees in this valley. That’s how this area got the name Jurassic Valley…it looked as if dinosaurs could be roaming down there! The goats are working here (5th year) and we will expand the planting area once they have done their work. When they leave, volunteers remove the woody remains and the roots so that young trees have a chance to survive. To date Friends of South Side Park has planted 213 trees, 57 shrubs, and 130 perennials! FOSSP had an ecological restoration plan done for this entire valley area by the Pgh Parks Conservancy and that study guides our work. There was once the St. Clair Incline that carried both pedestrians and freight up this valley from Josephine Street on the flats of South Side up to Salisbury Street. It burned down in 1935. The trail to the right is called the Sterling Connector Trail and circles round and takes you to Sterling Street Steps. Turn around and find the trail leading down the wooden steps to the right, this is the Bandi Schaum Trail. Bandi Schaum Trail
The Student Conservation Association helps us maintain these trails. You will see their summer work as you turn the bends. It is important to stay on the trail in order to prevent erosion. The trail veering off to the left is the other entrance to the Keeling Coal Trail. Someday we hope to have complete signage throughout the park to make it easier for visitors to find their way! At the very bottom of the trail, if you went out to the parking lot you would come to the Bandi Schaum Community Garden. The community garden was an old Little League ballfield and is named for a beloved coach. Friends of South Side Park is planning a future ADA Trail which will go along the fence line and circle around the meadow beyond. There are also plans to address the erosion at the bottom of the trail, thanks to the work of the Watershed Task Force. Turn back up Bandi Schaum and make a right turn on to Tombstone Trail. Tombstone Trail
You notice the rocky surface of this trail. The clay soil was scraped off to make bricks by the Sankey Brick Company that used to operate in the park. Follow the trail up to the precipice and look over the cliff to see the community garden from above and the view as a whole. This area is called the plateau. The trail got its name from the “tombstones” – the large pillars that stand side by side. They are the remnants of an aerial tramway used to move the brick materials. Historically, there were lots of industries that took place in the park: barrel making, coal mining, coke ovens, slaughterhouses, glass factory, bronze foundry, and probably others yet to be discovered. From this trail, as it winds around the plateau, you can easily look down and see South 21st Street which is the scene for Phase One of the South Side Park Master Plan. We will remove approximately one acre of pavement and refashion this area into one beautiful, green park. The City and PWSA are working together on this project. PWSA is planning to capture and use a good bit of the water through underground tanks and green stormwater management measures. This water is currently running downhill into the South Side Flats combined sewer system and contributing to sewage overflow into the river. Please look online at the City of Pgh’s South Side Master Plan to see drawings for the upcoming renovation. Continue on down the trail, scaling down natural rock steps, crossing a couple of ever-flowing streams and you will come out to what is a parking lot for the Quarry football filed. Parking Lot by Quarry Field
This area will see dramatic changes, including a children’s natural type playground. There will also be an improved entrance to South 18th Street here. Cross the lot and ascend the wooden steps, making a left at the top and winding around and up. You are now on the Quarry Trail. Quarry Trail
The wall above Quarry Field was built in the 1930’s by the federal Works Progress Administration. There are lots of trees which were knocked down in this section by the tornado of 1998. However, thankfully the blackberry bushes along this route survived, making this trail quite a delicious experience if you time it right! As you ascend, note where the trail connects with Keeling Coal Trail to the left (unmarked). Continue on up to the South Side Trail and make a right. The wide tree just to the right of the trail entrance is the sole surviving crab apple that was planted here when this park was begun in the 1960’s. It is a magnificent sight in the spring. Continue on up the hill and you will be back to where you started. Join with FOSSP
Hopefully you had a pleasant hike and will return to explore the park more. Even better, Friends of South Side Park hosts a volunteer workday every third Saturday, and we can use people of all ages, abilities and skill sets. Please get in touch with us at [email protected] so you can be included in park updates. Thank you! Access the park from the top of Greeley Street; along 18th Street at Saber Way; behind the Quarry Football Field; going down the Mission Street Bridge steps; across from Mission St Pump House; up 21st Street; at Arlington Baseball Field Parking Lot; beside the Arlington Rec Center; at the end of Marengo St; and in the middle of the Sterling Street steps.
